Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what research funding they are providing to accelerate the development of cost-effective production of clean hydrogen through electrolysis.

The BEIS Energy Innovation Programme funded four feasibility studies into various innovative ways to produce hydrogen by electrolysis. The reports from these studies are available on the government website. Two projects went on to receive £10.6m in further funding.

ITM Power, a Sheffield based electrolyser manufacturer, received £7.5m to further develop their technology; to trial semi-automation in their production process; and work with Orsted and Phillips 66, to design a system to supply Phillips 66’s Humber oil refinery with green hydrogen.

Environmental Resources Management, a global sustainability consultancy, received £3.1m to carry out a detailed engineering design on a concept that combined floating offshore wind with electrolysis to produce green hydrogen.

In addition, several relevant initiatives are funded through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). These include “Green Hydrogen for Humberside” funded from the £170m Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy Challenge Fund, and several smart local energy system project which incorporate hydrogen electrolysis funded from the £102.5m Prospering from the Energy Revolution Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Innovate UK is supporting electrolysis projects such as the £226k Centurion Power-to-Gas feasibility study, and several electrolysis research projects are supported through UKRI’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell research hub (H2FC SUPERGEN).